Results: USAC XC National Championships 2023
Race favorites Savilia Blunk and Christopher Blevins delivered on Saturday, winning the USA Cycling Elite Cross-Country national titles at Bear Creek Resort in Pennsylvania.
Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Rockrider Racing Team) keeps the stars and stripes for another year after winning the elite title in 2022. Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) has been both a junior and U23 national champ, but this is his first elite title.
Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing) and Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Trek Factory Racing) were second and third in the women's race, while Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) and Luke Vrouwenvelder (Dirt Camp Racing) rounded out the men's podium.
It was hot and humid on race day in eastern Pennsylvania, where riders in the elite XCO race took on multiple laps of a technical 3.5 mile circuit with nearly 700 feet of climbing per lap.
The women raced four laps of the three-and-a-half-mile course. Courtney was the first rider to hit the tree-lined singletrack on the first lap. Blunk and Gibson were both close behind, trying to ensure that Courtney didn’t get away. Kelsey Urban (Kentfield, Calif.; Team 31) was behind in fourth. Courtney and Blunk pulled away together through the first lap and maintained a healthy lead through the remainder of the race.
Courtney was on the attack for the majority of the race in a bid for the national title, which she hasn't held since 2018. Blunk, despite the hot weather, had to maintain a cool head.
"I’ve never really raced in these conditions," she said. "I knew pacing would be super important, cooling, and hydrating. I just decided to start out a bit conservative. Soon after the first descent going into the second lap, Kate and I had a pretty good lap and we kind of stayed away. I was just trying to ride my own race. She would get away from me a little bit on some of the climbs and then I would always just bring it back on the descent. I just tried to stay calm and stay light. There are so many places to puncture out there."
Blunk didn't have the confidence to attack on the technical climbing but knew that if she kept the gap under 20 seconds by the top of the descent she could close it by the bottom.
Her strategy worked, but barely. Courtney got away more thank Blunk liked on the last steep climb, but Blunk was able to bring it back halfway down the descent. Then, the two sprinted for the line in the last 50 meters.
“It came down to a sprint, and I had looked at the sprint the day before just to check it," Blunk said. "You want to have a plan for the sprint if it comes down to that, so luckily, I kind of had an idea and went for it!”
During the first lap of the men's race, it looked to be another two vs. two battle between Blevins and Amos, who was racing up into the elite category this year. The riders from Durango, Colorado were together during the most the first lap until Amos had some mechanical issues, including a front flat.
Then, Blevins found himself solo, and although Amos kept trying to chase him down and eventually closed the gap to about 10 seconds, the 21-year-old couldn't catch his fellow Coloradan.
Blevins, although elated with his win, was bummed that he couldn't finish the fight with Amos.
“It was a solo endeavor out there," Blevins said. "Riley had some issues and dropped back in maybe 10-20 seconds. I kind of wish he didn’t have that issue so we could have battled it out up there."
On Sunday, Blevins will line up to defend his short track national championship. If all goes well, he'll head back to Europe for world champs and World Cups with two sets of stars and stripes in his suitcase.
"I’ve been gunning for the National Championships for a while, and it’s just never really worked out," he said. "I’m happy to bring this one home, and more than anything, just for all of us to have the stars and stripes in the World Cups is a really cool thing.”
Results
Pro Women
1st. Savilia Blunk: 1:20:57
2nd. Kate Courtney: +5
3rd. Gwendalyn Gibson: +6:04
4th. Kelsey Urban: +11:10
5th. Erin Osborne: +15:37
1st. Savilia Blunk: 1:20:57
2nd. Kate Courtney: +5
3rd. Gwendalyn Gibson: +6:04
4th. Kelsey Urban: +11:10
5th. Erin Osborne: +15:37
Pro Men
1st. Christopher Blevins: 1:10:46
2nd. Riley Amos: +27
3rd. Luke Vrouwenvelder: +2:57
4th. Carson Beckett: +4:16
5th. Kerry Werner: +4:17
1st. Christopher Blevins: 1:10:46
2nd. Riley Amos: +27
3rd. Luke Vrouwenvelder: +2:57
4th. Carson Beckett: +4:16
5th. Kerry Werner: +4:17
Full Results can be found here.
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Whole different thing
Men are more competitive by a lot at the extremes (compare the bell curves)
There are a lot more competitive men than women
And at my age she hasn't even started riding
So big L on Kate
The results speak for themselves: last year she put 3 minutes into Kate. This year she was very excited to be racing for this stars and stripes on a proper xco course. Naturally, because of her skills.
That was accomplished by doing well. Her other goals are to race a complete World Cup season, minus the one just prior to nats, Nats and Paris Olympic qualies. That requires a very careful tailoring of her training to remain durable and fresh. Naturally she is going to have lulls and, it appears, sacrificed a bit during the last few World Cups but was feeling better in her last one. Clearly she has nailed two of her objectives, to say the least.
What are the so-called "Olympic Quallies" that you think you know about?
The only way to auto qualify for Paris is a podium at worlds or a top 3 overall in the world cup. But I'm sure you already knew that
Regardless it's always some one like you who has no manners on the internet, and probably in real life.
I don't know what the qualifications the Olympic committee is looking for but if you absolutely insist on auto qualifying as the only way to qualify for the Olympics then maybe you are being purposefully argumentative for the sake of showing how much you know. If there are other criteria the Olympic committee weighs I'm sure Savilia knows them better than you, hence why she is targeting those according to her own words.
Maybe you should take a chill pill.
I could care less what Ms. Blunk said. She is definitely one of the 3 that will be in consideration of the selection committee if none of them meet one of the two criteria although she is far behind the other two currently. I wish her luck.
Of course it begins this year and runs through May 31, 2024. It's been posted on USAC website since January. Go read it.
You asked me where I got my info in the most arrogant, rude manner, I told you and you said you don't care? Do I got that right?
One thing I'm absolutely certain of you aren't that popular of a human being.
Not even close to what I'm trying to say. She may very well finish ahead of the other two in all of the remaining world cups and make up a ton of ground in the eyes of the discretionary selection committee. I think you need to look in the mirror with the accusations.
Perhaps you are a functionary for the USOC;
For you to presume so much is arrogant
What is wrong with you?
Have another beer and take a look in the mirror with your continued name calling. I wish your obsession luck. Adios.
Of course you don't.
But hey that's just me.
WOW. You really are a piece of work.
of. @cantaloupe13: You gotta be a part of Savilia’s crew. You know too much and care too much about other comments. Her dad or boyfriend’s burner account, maybe? @Spetsa: I’m not sure why you’re bringing the energy, but man, you brought it. Sorry guys. This is just an odd exchange.
Odd isn't bad, it's just odd to you. You are entitled to your opinion about our debate and we are entitled to ours. Nothing is universal.
Doesn't make sense to you young guys.
When Savilia wins nats there are only a handful of people here.
People are very strange about their idea of what appropriate accolades are. I am called obsessive for knowing something yet others are still dreaming of a Kate world cup victory. I find THAT disturbing.
I actually had a dm exchange with a local sportscaster who asked me the same thing lol. I told him just type in search criteria into YouTube and you will know as much as I do haha.
Hahaha!
I like to identify talent. Apparently you guys need to believe what other people believe. You guys are complete joke.
I'm the fan of the real deals of the world, not some social media hype hahaha!
16-1
UCI points don't even matter right now. It's all about the spring genius.
But if you want to argue that she's leading in points.
Such much lack of knowledge.
*You could NOT care less
*will be inconsideration BY the selection committee
*one of ALL eligible
It's unbelievable how wrong you can be in every sentence.
That's just ignorant thinking. For you to throw in about being in her crew is insane.
In real life do you walk into a room full of educated people on a certain topic and say you guys know too much. You must be part of some sort of inner sanctum of privileged information. Then walk out.
That's exactly what you did.
So in summary everything I said was accurate that came from information on the web, and everything you have accused me of is wrong.
Go back to your conspiracy theories and follow politics or Joe Rogan.
Since you accuse me of being in her crew do you realize she's had a YouTube channel for a couple of years that has details about training and her life.
Yeah you're probably right; it would be beneath you to follow somebody who wasn't a Big Name.
Exactly. He's the freaking XCC world champ and has won XCO.
Also the really big thing to factor in is he's only 25 yrs old. So to only be 2yrs out of the u23 and already a world champ at XCC and a WC XCO winner is pretty damn impressive.
Give him another couple of years and he will be more consistent up in that top 5 area.
www.pinkbike.com/news/conflict-with-life-time-grand-prix-shrinks-usac-cross-country-nationals-fields.html
@Mtbjaxjoe : No doubt! Kiddos on bikes is good no matter what, and as of 2018 they can learn those essential skills that involve wheels off the ground too!
I don't mean to tear on NICA too hard, I just think we'd have more competitive elite XC racers currently if their policies had been different a few years ago.